Billy Joel

I ashamed to tell you, but I have just seriously discovered Billy Joel. I always thought of him as a kind of "B-Elton John", but how wrong I was. I have started from scratch and we have bought his first 3 albums and my holy God. They are brilliant. By the way: Ronnie Tutt play drums on the Piano man album.

Billy is a great artist .you have a wealth of good music to catch up on

Cold Spring Harbor (the original mix with the long You Can Make Me Free) is the one I like most. Hassals first LP is cool too.

Billy Joel is a favourite of mine, too -- he's a marvellous musician, a splendid songwriter and a fine singer. The Stranger and Piano Man are among my favourite albums -- do seek out the terrific Legacy Editions of these. An Innocent Man is also very good, as is Turnstiles. But there's a wealth of fine albums and great music to discover from Joel.

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

Again don't miss out on his pre Piano Man stuff, a lot of it is really cool if unknown generally.

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

It has a real nice edgey sixties feel. Both of their albums are pretty cool.

The Hassles stuff is very good i have the original on vinyl

It has a real nice edgey sixties feel. Both of their albums are pretty cool.

I agree Mike

I've been unfair to him, too. His catalogue has quite some depth that you don't necessarily hear on the radio.

rjm

Turnstiles is on it´s way!

Great choice. Hope you enjoy.

I will!

I buy them in order. It´s fascinating to follow an artists development.

Again don't miss out on his pre Piano Man stuff, a lot of it is really cool if unknown generally.

Cold Spring Harbor was the first album I bought it made me a real fan. Have I missed other recordings before Piano man?

Hey Billy Joel fans,

Have a Look at this one. LOL Doesn't he Look a lot like Al Pacino ?

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

I always thought Glass Houses was a classic, in particular "All for Leyna" "Just a Fantasy" and "Don't Ask me Why". Too each their own, I guess Johnno check out "The Entertainer" from the above England 1978 gig.

Here's another Billy Joel concert I found on YT. At Wembly in 1984 this time -

The Billy Joel concerts on Ytube are coming thru thick and fast! Will be definetly downloading these over the Xmas holidays -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNnkq6PhWM


From the same concert but edited out from the special. Great spontaneous duel of B&TJ by the Piano Men on this -

"The Stranger" is on it´s way!!!! Can hardy wait!

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

Yes he did. You can really hear McCartney on a track like "Don't Ask Me Why" but some of Joel's more raucous moments also seem to be a nod in that direction.

I've always felt that Joel slips out of his own voice on occasion, when a song arrangement/mood reminds him of another artist. The example above is one, but I also detect some Jagger in "You May Be Right" and even some Neil Diamond in "All About Soul".

I always thought Glass Houses was a classic ...

No surprise there.

... check out "The Entertainer" from the above England 1978 gig.

No need. I know the BBC1 "Old Grey Whistle Test" performance from March 14, 1978, as it was issued on DVD.

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I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

Yes he did. You can really hear McCartney on a track like "Don't Ask Me Why" but some of Joel's more raucous moments also seem to be a nod in that direction.

I've always felt that Joel slips out of his own voice on occasion, when a song arrangement/mood reminds him of another artist. The example above is one, but I also detect some Jagger in "You May Be Right" and even some Neil Diamond in "All About Soul".

Interesting point. Back in 1980 when the record was on release, I remember hearing "Through the Long Night" on radio and thought it was Paul only to hear the announcer stating it was from Joel's Glass House record.

Live cut of a song from the Piano Man record. Anyone here know or like this song ?

I was never wild about Joel's condescending tone towards the punk movement (Glass Houses, "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me"), and some of his more pretentious efforts ("We Didn't Start the Fire" -- hello, R.E.M.!) but always had a soft spot for singles like "Big Shot." He certainly learned a lot from Paul McCartney.

I listened to "52nd street" on my way to work today. The third track on the album, "My life", has a part that sounds extremely like Paul McCartney. It´s probably "With a little luck" from "London town" I´m thinking of: Listen at 1:14-1:29 (My life): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghGuw6E7Vfg

Then listen to Wings at 0:50-1:25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XViNAoCq-k

"With a little luck" was released march 20 1978. "My life" was released in october 1978, so it isn´t impossible that Billy listetend and got inspired by Wings´ US no 1 hit. "My life" reached no 2, by the way.

"52nd street" is a bit mor "jazzy" than his previous records. Nice listening!

His voice makes me cringe especially when tries to pretend rock as someone mentioned. He has some nice songs, but Ive seen better singers in a lounge. If I ever hear My Life while driving, I may veer off the road! What an annoying song.